CONTENTS

Prime Minister George Papandreou on Wednesday assured that there will
be no further burden placed on salary and pension earners, nor an
increase in tax rates, addressing an event for young entrepreneurs
organised by the regional development and competitiveness ministry on
Wednesday.

Greece, he said, was at a turning point. "We are making the largest
reduction of the deficit ever done in the country, and have
unprecedented results," Papandreou said, stressing that "this should
give us self-confidence that we can achieve the targets we set".

In a greeting to the event/meeting between young innovative
entrepreneurs and regional development and competitiveness minister
Michalis Chryssohoidis, Papandreou said that his government will abide
by its commitments and there will be no new increase in tax rates or
burden on salary and pension earners.

Papandreou said that everyone "inside and outside Greece" must realise
that the Greek people have made "unprecedented sacrifices", stressing
that "through the enhancement of the taxation system, which is a
fundamental target of the government, a reduction of taxes will be
achieved", and pledging that "the clientele state, with its parasitic
and its state-dependent economy of wasteful spending will cease to
exist".

"We are moving to a change of the production model, and this vision
needs to be adopted by the (productive) forces of the country
themselves," he said, adding that the "young innovative entrepreneurs
are the spearhead for investment in knowledge and the human factor".

The premier also said that incentives will be given so that the youth
will not leave the country but stay and "innovate" in Greece, and
expressed his "deep conviction" that, albeit much work is necessary,
"we can change the state".

Addressing the meeting, Chryssohoidis said the aim is for government
and entrepreneurs "to speak the same language", warning that there was
no room for further delay. "We are seeking ways to fill the confidence
deficit existing between the state and entrepreneurship," he said.

"We live in a Greece of 'bubbles' and consumption that bursts over you
and creates obstacles to growth and extroversion," the minister said,
noting that those who are trying to build their own business today
shoulder a large risk, resulting in a trend of leaving the country and
marginalization in the young generation.

The ministry's goal is for the proposals by the young entrepreneurs to
comprise developmental incentives and to achieve easy and quick access
to the financing tools.

He added that an internet platform will be created in the coming months
with innovative ideas from all over the country, while actions will be
advanced via the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) and the
new development law.

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) spokesman Panos Panagiotopoulos,
commenting on the prime minister's statements to young entrepreneurs
stated that "the government's policy is identified with closed
businesses, the drying out of the market and economic suffocation".

As regards the assurances that salaries and pensions will not be
affected, Panagiotopoulos stated that the messages received show that
"more cruel measures are on the way after the local government
elections" next month.

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UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, Manfred Nowak expressed concern over
conditions of detention for foreign nationals in Greece during a press
conference on Wednesday that wrapped up a 10-day visit to the country
at the invitation of the Greek government.

The UN Special Rapporteur, who visited numerous detention centres along
the Greek borders, as well as, police stations in Athens and elsewhere
in the country, called on the Greek government to ratify the
international protocol against torture OPCAT and set up an independent
authority (to operate independently from police and the citizen's
protection ministry) to investigate complaints on inmate maltreatment
and torture.

He also issued an appeal to the EU to revise the Dublin II Regulation
and examine all the readmission cases of foreigners to Greece, pointing
out that "the current crisis Greece is facing should become a starting
point for the renegotiation of the Dublin II Regulation leading to a
joint EU policy on asylum and migration.

The UN Special Rapporteur expressed great concern about the
overcrowding in police station jails and in prisons, which in certain
cases "is a cause of tension, and clashes between groups of inmates of
different nationalities."

He stated that "many police stations in Athens have been turned into
detention centres for migrants, who are being held there for periods
longer than six months, their numbers are four times higher than
allowed, and the detention areas are filthy with poor ventilation and
lighting conditions. They have no access to information, no
interpreters and no legal aid or medical care".

He said that access to the asylum procedure is difficult and
characterized the entire system as dysfunctional but, at the same time,
praised the Greek government decision for an action plan on asylum
seekers, underlining that "the action plan will have to be 'translated'
into legislative measures and be implemented."

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Greek stocks moved higher for the fourth consecutive session in the
Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with the composite index of the
market rising 1.02 pct to end at 1,589.15 points. Turnover was low
90.487 million euros.